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Texas Tamale Pie is a flavorful, Mexican seasoned ground beef, bean, and corn casserole topped with cornbread.
This Tamale Pie makes a delicious and hearty comfort food casserole you will love!
However, my version has more of that awesome Tex-Mex flavor added, such as red salsa, red enchilada sauce, sliced jalapeños, chipotle chili powder, and cumin.
I top the Mexican cornbread with Pico de Gallo, chopped cilantro, queso fresco, and sometimes guacamole!
In San Antonio, jalapenos are added often instead of green peppers and enchilada sauce is used more often than tomato sauce.
Growing up in South Texas, I ate a lot of Tex-Mex foods, including many casseroles that could stretch a dollar, like Mexican Beef and Rice Casserole, King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Tamale Pie
- Flavor – Cornbread with a spicy, saucy ground beef, bean, and corn filling with jalapenos for a Texas Tamale Pie.
- Budget-Friendly – If you want to stretch your food budget, this is a great way to feed a group without increasing the grocery bill too much.
- Cornbread – Who doesn’t love cornbread? It makes everything better!
Ingredients
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
Filling
- Ground Beef-I used 80/20 ground beef. However, you could use 90/10 ground beef or ground turkey or chicken instead to lighten it up.
- Onion – I chopped a white onion. However, you could use a yellow onion, sweet onion, or shallots.
- Garlic – Mince fresh garlic cloves or use store-bought minced garlic. Either one will work.
- Jalapeno Peppers-For a Texas version of this recipe, use diced jalapenos. However, if those are too spicy, you could de-seed the jalapenos before dicing, use green peppers instead, or leave them out completely.
- Chipotle Chili Powder – I like to use Chipotle Chili Powder, but you could use regular chili powder if you prefer.
- Paprika – I used smoked paprika, but you could use regular paprika.
- Salt – Use salt to taste.
- Cumin
- Black pepper
- Red Salsa – Make your own Salsa Roja or use your favorite store-bought salsa.
- Enchilada Sauce – Use either store-bought enchilada sauce or make your own.
- Black Beans – I used canned black beans that were rinsed and drained.
- Corn – I used canned corn that was drained well.
Cornbread Crust
- Cornbread Mix – Use a store-bought cornbread mix, like Jiffy, or use your own cornbread recipe.
- Egg
- Milk
Garnish
Use your favorite toppings. Below are some of our favorite toppings.
- Sour Cream
- Chopped Tomatoes or pico de gallo
- Chopped Cilantro
- Sliced Avocado or Guacamole
How To Make Tamale Pie (Step-by-Step Photos)
Heat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
Prepare The Filling
Cook the beef, onion, garlic, and jalapeño in a large skillet or saute pan until the beef is no longer pink.
Add the spices to the meat and stir to combine.
Add the salsa, enchilada sauce, beans and corn and stir well.
Spread the meat mixture in the prepared pan.
Prepare the Cornbread Crust
In a medium bowl, combine the cornbread mix, egg, and milk. Stir just until combined.
Spoon the cornbread mix over the meat and spread out.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.
Top the Tamale Pie with your favorite toppings: sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro and avocados or guacamole.
Recipe Tips
- Cornbread Topping – If you want a thicker topping, double the cornbread layer by using two boxes of cornbread mix instead of one or doubling your cornbread recipe.
- Slow Down Browning – If the cornbread topping starts browning too quickly, cover the tamale pie dish with foil and continue baking.
- Salsa – You can use a homemade salsa instead using a jarred version.
Variation
- Cheesy-To make a cheesy version, melt your favorite cheese, such as Cheddar, on top of the cornbread.
- Salsa Verde – Use green instead of red salsa to change things up.
What To Serve With Tamale Pie
FAQs
That’s a good question. Some have said it is like deconstructed Texas tamales. Maybe some folks think the cornbread topping represents the masa used in tamales, but in my opinion, it is not like the flavor and texture of the tamale masa.
No. There are no tamales in tamale pie. However, some think tamale pie is somewhat similar to tamales because it has ground beef and cornbread.
Cover the casserole dish, or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Yes, Tamale pie freezes well. Place in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Recipes
- Stuffed Chile Relleno
- Mexican Beef and Rice Casserole
- Lentil Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole
- Corn Casserole with Sausage
- Chilaquiles Rojos Con Huevos
If you made this recipe and loved it, please leave a comment and a 5-star rating to share your experience with others.
Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 cup Onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1-2 Jalapeno Peppers diced
- 1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
- 2 cups Red Salsa
- 1 10-ounce can Enchilada Sauce
- 1 15-ounce can black beans , rinsed and drained
- 1 15-ounce can corn , drained
Cornbread Crust
- 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread Mix
- 2 Egg
- 2/3 cup Milk
Garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Cook the beef, onion, garlic and jalapeno in a saute pan until the beef is no longer pink.
While the beef is cooking, combine the cornbread mix, egg and milk. Stir just until combined.- Add the spices to the meat and stir to combine.
- Add the salsa, enchilada sauce, beans and corn and stir well.
- Spread the meat mixture in the prepared pan.
- Spoon the cornbread mix over the meat and spread out.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.
- Top the Tamale Pie with your favorite toppings: sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro and avocados or guacamole.
Jennifer says
YUMMMMMY! Oh Michelle, I just LOVE your cooking! Your tastes are just like mine… You like big, bold flavors, and this was no exception. Just a big, fat, yum! I am also in love with your “Picadillo Con Papas” and your roasted peppers filled with this delicious mixture. It’s just me and the hubs, so I halved the pound of ground beef, and am going to use it to make the roasted poblanos! Excited! 🙂 Thank you for being such a great cook and sharing your talents!
Michele says
Hi Jennifer,
I’m so happy you and I have the same taste! I’m glad you loved this tamale pie and the picadillo con papas! It’s readers like you that keep me motivated. So I truly appreciate the nice comment! Keep on cooking!
Thanks,
Michele
Sue says
This is the best tamale pie I’ve ever made! No changes made to the meat mixture. The flavor was fabulous and very well balanced. It’s nice to make a recipe for the first time and not feel that changes are needed. You can make this as spicy or as mild as you want with your choice of enchilada sauce and salsas.
If you’re a small household, don’t be intimidated to make this recipe. I used an 11×7 baking dish and 1 box of Jiffy cornbread batter was perfect, for us. The next time I make this recipe, I will divide the meat mixture between 2 – 8×8 dishes and use 1 box mix/batter per baking dish, and freeze 1 pan.
This recipe will be my go to recipe for tamale pie! Thanks for another excellent recipe!
Michele says
Hi Sue,
I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you so much for the nice review and the helpful tips.
Thanks,
Michele